A Dangerous Project
by Grand-Illusion
Summary: Hermione, Harry, and Ron are ready to do something about the threat Voldemort presents. But what can they possibly do? And is it worth the risk?
1. Inceptio

"Perhaps, Mr Weasley," Snape began icily, "You would like to explain why your potion has turned a rather incorrect shade of purple? Is it perhaps because you added an ingredient that I explicitly told you not to?"

Ron turned the same shade as his potion and gave the Potions Master a look that by all rights should have had Snape dropping dead. "If Malfoy hadn't chucked beetle eyes at me, they wouldn't have gotten in my potion!" he growled.

"An accident, Professor," Draco simpered, avoiding Snape's wrath, as usual.

Next to Ron, Hermione sighed. The lot of them still acted like first years. She loved Hogwarts, but lately, everything seemed a bit mundane. _Perhaps_, she mused, _I need a change_.

--------------------

"But Hermione," Harry objected, "You've just taken on two completely new classes this year, in addition to being Head Girl. Don't you think that's enough?" He turned to Ron. "What do you think?"

"You're mad! I've always said it, but this time I truly mean it. Absolutely bonkers!" Ron gasped.

"You know, that's the second time you've turned that colour today, Ron," Hermione observed. "Do you think you're coming down with something?"

Harry grinned. "Apparently she's serious, mate. What exactly did you have in mind, Hermione?"

All of the gears in Hermione's head cranked to a halt. "You know," she said thoughtfully. "I'm not quite sure. I've just been convincing myself why it is I need something new – not really what it is."

"You could try writing my Herbology essay for me, Hermione," Ron suggested. "I'm sure that'll try you mind. You could try something new – magical forgery!"

This received the customary frown from Hermione, but Harry frowned.

"What is it, Harry? You've got an odd look on your face. Have you thought of something?" Ron wanted to know.

"You know, Ron – that's not such a bad idea," Harry began, and Ron crowed triumphantly.

"Two to one! You're writing my essay tonight, Hermione!"

"No, Ron," Harry said quietly. "I mean about the forgery part. Look, we all know Voldemort's back, right? And the Death Eaters are on the move. None of us are naïve enough to think that everything they do will be overt. They're already making sure the Ministry doesn't make any kind of attack. Why shouldn't we start preparing ourselves?"

Ron frowned in confusion, but Hermione gasped.

"Oh, Harry! You think they're here! You think they're infiltrating Hogwarts!"

Harry shook his head grimly. "I don't know anything, but doesn't it make sense? All along we've known that Voldemort's one major obstacle is Hogwarts and Dumbledore. He's tried bringing a teacher in, but surely he realized by now that students aren't looked upon with suspicion."

Ron and Hermione looked shaken.

"Harry, how long have you been thinking about this?" Ron asked.

"Quite a while," he admitted. "But I couldn't figure out what to do about it, and I believe you've hit on it, Hermione. This calls for books." Hermione glowed.

"Right!" she said confidently. "We'll start by figuring out what we need to focus on. Then we'll go to the library. We can try Hogsmeade, too! I bet that would be helpful!"

Ron just groaned.

--------------------

Two hours later, Harry rubbed his eyes and sighed. Hermione and Ron weren't looking too perky either. He shut his book with a thump and stretched tiredly, muscles complaining insistently that he truly needed some sleep.

"Time to get going?" Hermione asked, stifling a sigh. Ron let out a very eloquent yawn, and Harry just nodded.

"Alright," Hermione said, "Here's what we've got so far. Magical forgery, lock spells, dark magic detection, hiding and finding spells, tamper-proofing, and secrecy spells, especially detecting them. Anything else?"

"Any kind of silence spell," Harry offered. "Both to silence a person, or to silence sounds. Those would definitely be useful." Hermione nodded.

"One thing bothers me," interjected Ron suddenly. "Where do they get their money?"

This sudden statement earned him a blank stare from Harry and Hermione.

"No, look, you two," he insisted. "We know that a few of the Death Eaters have a lot of money, right? Well, with everything that they do, I think at least a few of them – like Lucius Malfoy – should have run out of it a long time ago. So where are they getting more?"

Hermione sighed. "Come on, Ron," she said, "It's late, we're tired, if you think of something comprehensible, tell us tomorrow." With that, she picked up her books and the three of them headed to bed.

----------------------

The next day, Hermione woke with the sun shining gently on her bed. She sighed and turned over, thinking about yesterday. Was it really a good idea to do this? Could meddling in things like this be dangerous? She snorted. Since when had Ron or Harry been concerned about danger? And as for herself, she had been cured of that after her first year with the two of them! Hermione reluctantly rolled out of bed and after showering and getting dressed, headed down for breakfast.

"'Mornin' 'ermione!" Ron mumbled through a mouthful of eggs. Harry was over talking to a first-year about joining the Quidditch team, so Hermione sat down and started her meal, still thinking about the dangers of dark magic. Should they get a teacher involved? No, the most they were likely to uncover was a few people trying to cheat on O.W.L.S. But just in case....

"Harry," she said suddenly. "Ron. If something happened to one of us, the other two would go to a teacher immediately, right?"

The two of them looked at her blankly. "Er, sure, Hermione," said Ron, and then, under his breath to Harry, "Where did that come from? I don't understand her. They should have a class devoted to comprehension of the female mind."

"It wouldn't work, because you wouldn't ever do your homework," Hermione said waspishly.

"Hey, I did my homework for today!" Ron protested. Hermione's eyebrow crept up onto her forehead.

"You really did that brutal Potions essay?" she asked in surprise. Ron's jaw dropped.

"Potions...essay? Oh, no. No, no, no. You must be joking."

Harry shook his head seriously. "You're in deep this time, mate. Snape's taking it at the beginning of class. You'd best get working." Ron shoved a piece of toast in his mouth and jumped up, nearly tripping over his fallen chair in the process. He practically sprinted out of the hall as Hermione and Harry sat leaned back in their chair watching.

"I wonder what he'll write about?" Harry wondered casually.

"I wonder how long it'll take him to figure out there is no essay," Hermione got out with a straight face, before they both burst out laughing and went to save Ron's quill hand.

--------------------


	2. Headquarters

**A Dangerous Project - Part 2 - Headquarters**

"'_Illumini Furtivus_,'" Harry read aloud, "'immediately shows any object or person that has recently been the subject of a hiding spell. _Illumini Furtivus_ does not show the use of an invisibility cloak or of anything that has been altered in appearance, only those which have been subject to a spell whose specific purpose is to avoid detection.'"

Ron looked up from _Famous Forgeries_ to read Harry's paragraph. "_Illumini Furtivus_, huh? Sounds useful to me. Should we learn it?"

Hermione frowned. "We really ought to find a classroom to meet in, so we have somewhere to work in private and practice spells. Also, I think we need to record everything. Who knows when we might need it?"

"I think there's an unused classroom a few doors down from the broom closet on the third floor," Ron said helpfully, "Percy, er, told me about it,"

"Percy?" Hermione and Harry chorused.

"Yeah," Ron said, turning strange colors again, "Remember that girlfriend of his, the one he wanted to keep quiet about? They met in there sometimes, I think."

Harry and Hermione's shock gradually changed to giggles, and finally full-out laughter, until they were chased out of the library by Madame Pince.

--------------------

A week later, Hermione decided the three of them should start trying spells. So one day after Defense Against the Dark Arts, they made their way to the empty classroom. "Percy, ick," Ron mumbled the whole way there.

"Hermione," Ron asked, "How likely is it that we can practice _Illumini Furtivus_ in an unused classroom? We won't find much." Hermione frowned.

"You're right," she admitted. "Let's each pick a hallway, and write down everything we discover. We can compare notes after Potions."

"Alright," agreed Harry. "I think we better get to class, or Snape will flay us alive!"

After a relatively painless Potions class with the Ravenclaws, the three of them spread out in the castle to practice their first detection spell. ("We better do this once a week until we've covered the entire castle. It won't take long," Hermione said optimistically.)

The three of them met back up about an hour later, holding parchment lists and small objects.

"Look at this, it's brilliant!" exclaimed Ron. "It's one of those candy quills, but it's bewitched to look like a normal one!" Hermione sighed. Maybe this idea was going to cause more trouble than it solved! Harry was examining the quill with interest.

"Say, d'you think we should send this to Fred and George? Maybe they can mass produce some!" he suggested enthusiastically. The two boys fell into a deep discussion on whether or not the Weasleys would be interested, so Hermione picked up their scribbled lists and pored over them.

_Fluffy's corridor, and the opposite corridor:_

_Quill – bewitched to not look like candy_

_Notebook – bewitched to look new_

_Third set of armor on the left hand side - ???_

_Fluffy's door – eye-slide charm _

_Statue of Morgan le Fay – bewitched to look clean _

Ron's list was about as long.

_Dungeon Hallway:_

_Mirror – charmed to appear gold instead of brass_

_Ink in bottle – charmed for invisibility_

_Graffiti on wall – charmed to invisibility_

_Fourth dungeon on right – bewitched so it isn't noticed_

_Seventh wall sconce on left – charmed to appear uncracked_

_Second dungeon on left – lock bewitched to look more sturdy_

Hermione called the still-quarreling boys over. "Were any of these particulary strong results? Supposedly the stronger the results, the better the spell." Ron and Harry both shook their heads.

"Nothing very strong here, sorry, Hermione," said Harry. "Perhaps we'll get something interesting next time." At this, Ron looked a little disgruntled.

"What about Quidditch practices?" he growled. "I've got to keep plenty of time for that!"

"Don't worry, mate, we'll be fine. Shall we work on this again after supper?" Harry asked. Ron and Hermione both nodded. "Right, then, let's go eat, I'm starving."

--------------------

Dinner passed uneventfully, and with renewed energy they spent more time looking over books in the empty classroom, which Ron had dubbed Headquarters.

"Look," Hermione said suddenly. "Let's try this!" Ron and Harry pulled their chairs closer and read over her shoulder.

"_Alertus Emotis_ is one of the most dangerous and useful safeguard potions. The potion is made and then placed in any glass container that will be touching the wearer's skin. When malevolence towards the wearer or anything the wearer cares about is felt in a nearby person or object, the potion turns blue. The darker the colour is, the more intense the emotion or danger. The potion emits a burning, tingling sensation if the wearer is in immediate danger. However, the danger must be likely to occur within a few minutes. _Alertus Emotis_ has no sense of events farther in the future." Hermione looked up expectantly.

"Why, Hermione," Ron said despairingly, "Must you always choose potions with the words 'dangerous' or 'difficult' in the description?"

After researching the ingredients, Harry looked up at Hermione with a strange look on his face.

"Hermione, do you realize we have to go in the forest for this?"

Hermione looked a little uncomfortable as she waited for Ron to realize what Harry had said.

"WHAT?!" Ron nearly exploded. "HAVE YOU LOST IT?!"

Hermione winced. "Ron, be quiet!"

"Quiet? We're going to take a field-trip into a forest full of deadly creatures, probably at night, looking like a good bedtime snack, and you want me to be quiet!"

"It does sound like a pretty important potion, Ron," Harry reminded him. "And we probably won't have any trouble finding this herb. It needs to be used within three days after picking, but it also needs sunlight, so it's probably at the edge of the forest. We'll be fine there."

Hermione shot Harry a grateful look. Then again, Harry had a very personal reason for this expedition, so perhaps she should have expected his help. After Ron calmed down a bit, they packed up and headed slowly towards bed, trying to work out some sort of schedule for the potion-brewing.

"So, we should be able to start next week, as soon as we get a chance to filch some of Snape's supplies, right?" Hermione asked. Harry nodded.

"You know, Hermione, I think this is good for you. If you didn't like brewing potions so much, you'd never consider anything dishonest. And from a teacher, too!" Ron gasped in mock horror, and the three of them went to bed laughing and in high spirits.

--------------------

A/N - Remember, I own none of these characters! If I did, I'd have a lot more money than I do now.


	3. The Field Trip

**A Dangerous Project – Part 3 – The Field Trip**

After Hermione, Harry, and Ron successfully collected the supplies they needed from Snape's classroom, they set up shop in Headquarters and began the first steps of the potion-making.

"You know," Harry said thoughtfully, "I enjoy this so much more when Snape isn't hovering over me like a bad smell."

Ron laughed. "That's for sure! Hey Hermione, how many drops of this do I need?"

"Twelve," Hermione answered absently. She furrowed her brow in concentration, reading something intently. Harry peered over her shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

"Learning a new lock spell," she said, still distracted. "I thought it would be very bad to have someone find out what we're doing, so I'm trying to figure out this combination spell and potion. Instead of having a specific counterspell, or unlocking spell, it's tied to the three of us. So the only other people who can come in are ones who are with us. I hope it works correctly! If it does, we should also be able to recognize when the spell is in use for others," Hermione started to grow enthusiastic, "You see, it's actually both a spell and a counterspell! So if we try a locked door and get the same feeling we do when we go through our spell, we'll know someone else has done the same spell on that door! And because it's tied to us, we'll know if someone tries our door! Isn't that brilliant?"

"I don't believe it," Ron said in disbelief. "She's _fluttering_!" Harry grinned at Ron's expression.

"But again, Hermione is dead on," Harry said positively. "What do we need to contribute to this?"

Hermione frowned thoughtfully. "Well, I need a piece of you. Hair, nail, whatever. Other than that, nothing, I think. But thanks!"

"Nothing to it," Harry said cheerfully. Ron gave him an odd look.

"What's got you so perky, mate?"

Harry shrugged. "I just like doing something useful instead of sitting around, that's all."

At this, Ron and Hermione exchanged a worried glance. Dumbledore had once talked to them about how, because of the link between Harry and Voldemort, Harry could occasionally feel an emotion from the Dark Lord. The question was whether Harry was antsy and jumpy because he was honestly happy to be doing something – or because Voldemort was moving. Ron gave a small shrug in Hermione's direction. Apparently he had no idea which it was, either. Hermione sighed. School was not supposed to be this complicated!

"So," Harry began, "We can go to the forest the day after tomorrow, if you like. That way we have a bit of time to sleep in the next day, since I assume we'll be doing this at night." Hermione nodded.

"That's what I was thinking. I hope we all still fit in your cloak, Harry!" she joked, grinning. The cloak had been a tight squeeze when they had first used it together, but now that Ron and Harry had shot upwards several inches, it might be way too close for comfort! But they would find out soon. Only two days.

--------------------

The day before their trip to the forest, Hermione was uncharacteristically shaky. She dropped two African Weeping Tree leaves on Seamus, who had to be rushed to the hospital wing as tears started pouring out of his eyes. Hermione still hadn't recovered from that when Ron leaned over.

"Hermione!" he whispered urgently. "Do you suppose there are many spiders at the edge of the forest?" This was almost enough to make Hermione crack a smile, and Harry grinned outright.

"I'm sure you'll be fine, Ron," he said reassuringly, but Ron spent the rest of Herbology mumbling about the dangers of spider fangs.

That afternoon, Hermione started mentally preparing herself for the job ahead. They were going for tea with Hagrid at four, then dinner, and then they would stay in the Gryffindor common room until it was dark out. It all sounded great – after all, it wasn't the first time they'd had to do something like this! But Hermione couldn't shake an uneasy feeling. Maybe it was Harry's enthusiasm. He was a lot less cautious of late, and that made her uncomfortable.

--------------------

"Hurry up, Ron!" Harry hissed.

"Shoe – untied – tripped – hang on-" Ron grunted. Hermione tugged on Harry and Ron's arms impatiently and gave them a _"be quiet!"_ glare. Ron finished with his shoe and they kept walking, down the front hallway and out onto the grounds. They crept towards the forest, Hermione jumping at noises, Ron at shadows. Harry had a hungry look on his face, anticipation all but pouring out of his eyes. They reached the edge of the forest and shrugged off the invisibility cloak, spreading out to look for their potion ingredients.

"Hermione!" Ron whispered loudly, making her heart speed up, "Is this it?" Hermione glanced at the plant in his hand and shook her head.

"Leaves are too big," she mouthed back. Ron frowned and tossed the plant on the ground close to Hermione's feet. The three of them kept searching, Harry and Ron walking deeper into the forest while Hermione knelt down to re-examine the plant Ron had pulled up. A few minutes later Hermione let out a strangled cry.

"Harry! Ron!"

The two of them sprinted back to Hermione, who was now covered up to her throat in a sticky red substance oozing out of the plant at her feet. Harry saw with horror that her wand had fallen out of reach. With absolutely no idea what this thing was, he pulled out his wand and thought frantically as Ron created a tube of air to let Hermione breathe.

The poison crawled up Hermione's neck and began pressing on Ron's creation.

"Hermione, no!" Ron shouted as the red goo collapsed Hermione's airway. Desperately, Harry yelled.

"_Frigidus Totalus!_" Immediately, the poison began to slow down, freeze, and crack. Harry knelt next to Ron at Hermione's side. She looked to be asleep, perhaps in a coma.

"Should we try to get it off?" Harry asked in a hushed voice. Ron shook his head grimly.

"Dad has worked with something like this, I remember him telling me. We'd best get someone else to help."

Harry nodded silently, and they levitated Hermione's still form back to the castle. It was probably the quietest walk Harry and Ron had ever taken together. They had no way of knowing whether Hermione would be alright.


	4. The Tapestry Door

**A Dangerous Project – Part 4 – The Tapestry Door**

As soon as they reached the castle, Ron and Harry realized that they had no idea where to take Hermione's still form. Ron started to speak, but before he could get a word out, the last person either of them wanted to see came striding down the hall.

"What is the meaning of this?" Professor Snape demanded, cold fury making his face even more threatening than usual. He stood blocking the hall, apparently waiting for some kind of response.

"It's Hermione, Professor," Harry improvised, levitating her towards Snape. "She must have been experimenting with something, because we heard her cry out and found this stuff all over her - "

"– and Harry froze it. We were looking for a teacher." Ron finished. At the sight of Hermione, Snape's eyes widened slightly, then narrowed calculatingly.

"Follow me," he said abruptly, and turned quickly, setting off at a quick pace. Wherever they were going, it wasn't the Hospital Wing. That meant it was probably Snape's office. Harry's anger flared. It was more important to help Hermione than to make sure he and Ron got detentions! Harry was about to comment when Snape turned to a tapestry of a moonlit lake and pressed his wand against it. He murmured words that Harry couldn't hear, and the tapestry melted into the wall and became a carved cherrywood door. Snape grasped the handle and opened the door, pulling Harry, Ron, and Hermione inside as well.

"Is this his room?" Ron whispered to Harry. Harry took a closer look and decided Ron was right. The entire room was different shades of wood, with silver, green, and black. The lush rug under their feet in the entrance was a deep green flecked with silver, the wall hangings done in similar style, and black metal formed candle holders and parts of furniture. There was a comfortable, low couch in front of the fireplace, and two chairs at a small table. There were three doors opposite the entrance. One to a bedroom, one to a bathroom – and a study, Harry supposed. Snape was now laying Hermione down on the couch while Ron hovered anxiously. Ron was right to be worried – what was Snape going to do?

"Professor, what - "

"Quiet, Potter!" Snape snapped. Ron sat down on the couch next to Hermione and gave Harry a worried look. Harry just shrugged, and the two of them watched Snape as he went into the door on the left. He came out holding a milky green potion that struck Ron as looking rather like melted mint chocolate-chip ice cream.

"Up, Weasley," Snape said curtly, though less harshly than before. Ron sprang from his seat and Snape took his place. Harry and Ron watched nervously as he carefully began peeling the noxious red substance from Hermione's skin. The flesh left behind after Snape peeled off the poisonous substance was oozing and flushed, looking incredibly painful. So gently that it surprised Harry and Ron, Snape began rubbing the green potion from the flask he held into Hermione's skin. The potion immediately healed and soothed her flesh, and Harry and Ron sighed in relief. They relaxed as Hermione began to stir a little. When he had finished, Snape stood and placed the remaining potion on his table. He looked at Harry and Ron, seeming oddly satisfied.

"Miss Granger will wake tomorrow morning and should not show any more symptoms. If she does, bring her to me immediately. Return to bed, and do not let me find you elsewhere again."

Ron and Harry nodded. They carried Hermione carefully out of Snape's room and into the chilly hallway. After hushed discussion, they decided that instead of just letting her sleep in her room, they should watch her to make sure she was alright. They set her down in a large armchair in the Gryffindor common room, and took turns watching over her through the night, talking softly so as not to disturb her uneasy sleep.

--------------------

Over breakfast the next morning, they updated Hermione on what had happened after they had visited the forest.

"You took me _where_?" she asked in shock. Ron nodded emphatically.

"Yeah, Snape's rooms. All wood and Slytherin colors. Dunno, maybe he thinks he's nasty enough in real life that his rooms should look decent."

Hermione just stared at him in dismay and disbelief.

"Don't you get it? I just jeopardized our entire project! We could have been discovered, just because I couldn't leave that plant well enough alone!" Hermione looked stricken, close to tears, but Harry shook his head.

"Stop, Hermione. It's not as though you threw yourself headlong into something dangerous. Besides, we've had close calls before. Snape doesn't suspect a thing! And now that you feel better, so we can try again." He frowned when Hermione began to protest.

"No, Hermione, don't be ridiculous, it wasn't your fault at all."

"Yeah," Ron chimed in, "And 'jeopardized'? No way. We had it under control."

A few minutes later, Hermione was finally convinced, and did what she usually did when she felt fine.

Organized.

"Right!" she said enthusiastically, cheerful once more, "We'll either have to wait until we can go out to the forest again, or we completely forget this altogether."

"I don't – " Harry began.

"Maybe we – " Ron started at the same time.

They looked at each other and grinned.

"Hermione, we think that we should go to the forest without you." Ron said for both of them. "We need you to stay and keep working on the potion, and we don't really need all three of us out in the forest getting one bloody little plant."

"If you just give us a picture of it, we can find it in no time, while you get the potion ready," Harry added. Hermione scowled at them.

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" she burst out. "It has nothing to do with the fact that I should be working on the potion, does it? You think the forest is too dangerous for me, is that it? How dare you try to protect me? As though I need it! I'm better at spells than both of you! I don't need to be coddled like a child! Both of you have gotten hurt, and I didn't insist that you hide in the castle! I will be going to the forest tonight, whether the two of you decide to join me is something you'll have to decide for yourselves." She ended her tirade, shoved her chair back, and stormed out of the Great Hall, heading for her room.

"Bloody hell!" Ron cursed, "What now?"

"We go after her and talk to her, mate." Harry said decisively. They both pushed their chairs back, taking the time to push them back in neatly at McGonagall's severe look, then all but sprinted out.

They ran through the halls, trying to catch up with Hermione. Finally, they did.

"Hermione!" Ron called.

She was standing in front of her door, motionless, staring fixedly at something at her feet. Breathless, they stopped on either side of her, glancing down to see what she was looking at.

Lying in front of her door, freshly picked, was the herb they needed to complete the potion.


	5. Too Much Firewhiskey

**A Dangerous Project – Part Five – Too Much Firewhiskey**

"So it wasn't a student," Ron said for the seventh time, pacing in agitation.

Hermione rubbed her temples, feeling her headache increase. "We've definitely established that, at least, in the past hour. I'm pretty sure no one else would be interested in taking a midnight trip to the Forbidden Forest just to help me out. Besides, they would have no way of knowing what we were there for."

"No other adults, either," Harry added, still sitting cross-legged on Hermione's floor. There haven't been any visitors on the grounds for at least a week, and it was too fresh for that. No one can apparate to Hogwarts, so no one could have snuck in." He scowled. "I don't like this. You're sure the bloody plant hasn't been tampered with?"

Hermione nodded confidently. "It was placed at my door within a few hours of picking, and there isn't any residual magic. I tried a few spells I know, but there's not a trace of anyone on it, so he or she must have used gloves."

"So we're saying it was a teacher," Harry concluded. "But the real question is, why do it secretly? If they wanted to help us, they could have said something!"

"Not really," Ron objected. "We're breaking school rules, they can't support that."

Hermione frowned and clenched her hands in frustration. "I hate this! We're not getting anywhere!"

The three of them sat in glum silence, hoping that not thinking would help them, well, think of something.

It didn't.

A few moments later, Hermione sighed. "We'll just have to keep going. I mean, this is a good thing. We can finish the potion, which means we can start doing more dangerous and useful things in, um, Headquarters."

At another mention of the word 'dangerous' Ron groaned and buried his head in a pillow.

--------------------

In a few days, they had completed the Alertus Emotis. Hermione had procured some small blown-glass baubles that looked as though they were simply jewelry. While Ron and Harry watched expectantly, she poured the simmering, muddy brown potion into the small glass balls. Into one she dropped a small piece of her hair, another Harry's, and the last Ron's. She melted the glass shut as the hair dissolved, and the three of them watched the potions, fascinated. Hermione's turned a foamy sea green, Ron's a bubbling gold, and Harry's...

"Pink?!" Harry asked in dismay.

"In touch with that feminine side lately, Harry?" Ron sniggered. Hermione shot him a disapproving look, trying to hide a grin at the look on Harry's face.

"Really, though," she said, attempting to console him, "you can wear it under your robes! It won't be a problem."

"Oy!" Ron exclaimed, excited. "Let's see if they work!" Harry, still distracted, glanced over at Ron.

"How?" he asked confusedly. Hermione and Ron grinned at each other.

"Malfoy!" they chorused.

--------------------

"But what if he sees it?" Ron asked nervously. Hermione grinned.

"He'll just think you two are even stranger than you are!" she said cheerfully. "Go on!"

With Ron and Harry leading the way, they made their trek down the hall, coming closer to Malfoy. When they were a few feet from him, Ron glanced surreptitiously at his necklace.

"It worked!" he said delightedly. Indeed, his potion had turned a pale blue. Harry and Hermione looked at theirs, too, and committed the shade to memory. It wasn't very dark. Could it be that perhaps Malfoy didn't hate them as much as they thought?

No, Hermione decided, perhaps it was just that compared to some hatred, like that of Voldemort, Malfoy was relatively insignificant. It put a different spin on things to think of it like that.

--------------------

A storm came up that night, so everyone stayed in the Gryffindor common room in front of the fire – talking, playing games, and having fun. After Fred and George left, Ron had taken over the procuring of foodstuff from the kitchens, so they were well supplied with cakes, tortes, and other none-too-healthy snacks. And even...

"_Firewhiskey_?" Hermione said disapprovingly. "Ronald Weasley, if your mum knew about this..."

"Then she won't!" he said cheerfully. "It's only a bit!"

"Ron! Stop! Put it down!" the note of panic in Hermione's voice surprised Ron.

"Look, Hermione, it's only a bit, it's not dangerous at all."

"Ron, _look at your necklace_." Hermione almost shrieked. Ron glanced down in surprise. His potion was such a dark blue to be almost black, and when he touched it, it was warm. He pulled his hand back in shock and threw the firewhiskey to the floor. By this time Harry had joined, and the three of them watched in horror as the liquid ate through the floor, frothing and smoking. A hush had settled in the room as everyone watched the potion.

Harry forced a laugh. "Gosh, Hermione, you almost got Ron this time! That stuff would have made him say his thoughts out loud for a week! Close call, Ron!" he said, punching Hermione in the shoulder gently. The two others caught on quickly and both laughed loudly as Hermione cleaned up the potion and repaired the floor. The room rose slowly back to its normal dull roar, and Harry sighed in relief.

"Come on," he hissed. "Let's go somewhere private."

They met back in Hermione's room, seeing as how it was the most secluded place. For a moment there was silence, and then all three of them started talking at once.

"Do you think that – "

"Maybe it was – "

"Should we – "

They all stopped, and grinned weakly at each other. Harry tried again.

"Do you think that this had anything to do with what we've been working on? And was it even linked to us? Whoever did it probably had no idea who would drink the firewhiskey." He paused thoughtfully. "Ron, who knew you were getting the firewhiskey?" Ron frowned.

"Well, the house elves," he said slowly. "You, and Hermione. Seamus. Neville. Maybe Ginny, maybe Lavender, I think. Other than that, no one."

Hermione groaned in frustration. "Why do we have so many unanswered questions lately? Nothing makes sense any more! Why did I ever ask for something interesting to do?" This made Harry and Ron laugh, easing the tension that had saturated the air since the earlier incident.

"I don't think we should worry too much," Harry said. "We should be on guard, but these potions are a big help, and we can't do anything until we keep working. So just be careful."

Both Hermione and Ron heard the unspoken 'or else' in his words, remembering what they were really up against. Hermione shivered. How could they possibly think they could do something? In their previous battles with Voldemort, were they competent, or lucky?


	6. Who Needs Spells?

_Many thanks go out to my wonderful reviewers. My work is so much the better for your encouragement. I can always use constructive criticism!_

_To anyone who has commented on my chapter length, I try to make them short so that I can get them out frequently, seeing as how I'm pretty impatient myself. _

_Now, the story._

**A Dangerous Project – Part Six – Who Needs Spells?**

The next few days were some of the best so far that year. It was lovely outside, so most of the Gryffindors gathered around the lake to chat and work on homework, especially a particularly brutal Potions essay. Hermione watched Harry and Ron practice flying while she relaxed under a tree, running her fingers through the lake water lazily. _Days like this have a horrible habit of making everything seem unimportant_, she thought. _Perhaps I should work on some homework_...

But as Seamus and Neville had a water fight in the lake and Harry flew a loop-the-loop around Ron, Hermione Granger decided, for the first time in her life, to not do her homework. It was, after all, just as important to relax as work hard...

Hermione woke from her afternoon nap and stretched, eyes still half closed. She wondered what had woken her – until she felt the familiar prickle of being watched. She turned towards the forest and was just in time to see a branch sway. Was she becoming paranoid, or was there actually someone there? She called Ron and Harry down.

"Hey Hermione, what's going on?" Harry asked, landing softly on the grass beside her.

"I think we need to keep working. Even if we don't go inside, we should think, or write stuff down. I don't like the fact that we haven't been doing anything. It's making me nervous." To her surprise, it was Ron that agreed with her.

"You're right, Hermione, and I really don't like that there's something going on we don't know about. What d'you think, Harry?" Harry scowled.

"Can't we ever take a break from this?!" he burst out. Hermione and Ron drew back in surprise as Harry mounted his broom and flew off.

"What's going on with him?" Ron asked in confusion. Hermione just shook her head. It was very unlike Harry to have these, well, mood swings!

"Maybe the stronger Voldemort becomes, the more Harry is connected to him," she suggested. "That's the only reason I can think of for him being so unlike himself." The two of them gazed at Harry as he flew higher, swirling and spinning. He didn't look like he was coming down anytime soon, so Hermione pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill. She drew three columns, labeling them.

"Okay, what have we accomplished so far, what have we found out, and what do we need to do still?" she asked Ron.

"Well, we've done _Illumini Furtivus_,_ Alertus Emotis_, and we've started working on the spell for the door lock, right?" Hermione nodded and scratched this onto her parchment. Ron continued.

"We've found out that someone is helping us, whether it's for good or bad. We've found out _Alertus Emotis _works, and we've found all the things that appeared with _Illumini Furtivus_. By the way, here's my list from yesterday." He handed it to Hermione, who added it to the others and made a mental note to look over it later.

"Oh, yeah, and we found out Malfoy doesn't like us. Surprise! How useful to know, huh?"

Hermione laughed at his sarcastic tone, but couldn't help noticing that he still sounded worried about Harry. She sighed, wishing she knew what was going on in Harry's head. It was so irritating, not knowing.

"We need to find out who's helping us. We need to find out if anyone here supports You-Know-Who, I guess. What else?" Hermione shrugged.

"I don't know, maybe we'll find out more things to look into later. Oh! Wait! I just remembered! I think someone was watching from the forest earlier, before I called to you and Harry." Hermione shivered, remembering the creepy feeling of being watched.

"Strange," Ron commented. "But we can't really do anything about it now, so we'll just have to be very careful in the future." Nodding, Hermione thought about everything that could happen. This year, the stakes were higher than ever. Again, she wondered what she was getting herself into.

---------------------

Harry strolled through the hall, scribbling down everything that glowed at the mention of _Illumini Furtivus_. He made his way slowly, checking off everything on his parchment. After all, any little thing could be useful. However, when he came to the end of the hallway, he stopped in shock.

"Bloody hell," he breathed.

There in front of him, a section of wall was shining such a bright white-green that it hurt Harry's eyes. He experimented with a few spells, trying to see what was there, but decided it would be better to get Hermione. He vanished the spell, running to find Hermione.

A few moments later, Hermione, Harry, and Ron were gathered in front of the massive stone wall, looking in contemplation at what Harry had found.

"What d'you think it is?" Harry asked anxiously. Hermione was staring thoughtfully at the wall, while Ron poked and prodded around curiously. Hermione shook her head.

"I don't know yet," she admitted. She pulled a book out of her robes and started flipping through it. "But I'll know soon! I just have to hit on the right spell." She pulled out her wand, rolled up her sleeves, and started casting.

Half an hour later, Hermione had collapsed on the floor, tired and frustrated.

"Not a spell! Not a single bloody spell did a thing!" Harry patted her back in consolation.

"I'm sure it's out there, and you're good at finding things like that. You'll get it!"

"Thanks, Harry. Ron, what are you doing?"

Ron was still poking around, looking at the stones in interest and mumbling to himself.

"Er, nothing. Just looking around."

Suddenly there was a soft thud and a creak. An entire section of wall slid back silently and smoothly, revealing a narrow, dark corridor. Hermione and Harry jumped up in shock.

"Ron! How did you do that?" Hermione shrieked.

Ron blushed furiously and shrugged.

"I just figured, we're in a place crawling with wizards and witches, so maybe the smarter thing would to have made it something non-magical. So I remembered some muggle mysteries you lent me and poked around."

"Right, and if it hadn't had that spell on it, we wouldn't have noticed at all! That's brilliant, Ron!" Harry exclaimed. Hermione looked a bit put out, but not enough to be disinterested in what was behind the stone. She peered into the corridor.

"Should we go in?" she asked in a hushed voice. Ron thought for a moment.

"Well, we have plenty of time. No more classes today! So I guess now would be good," he suggested. Hermione and Harry nodded.

"You keep lookout, Harry," Hermione told him. "We have to know if someone's coming. Ron, you first, since you seem to be good at this." The three of them silently took their positions, and Ron began to tread silently into the corridor. Before Hermione was inside, Harry jumped.

"In, quick!" he hissed, "Students are about to come around the corner!"

Their hearts in their throats, Hermione, Ron, and Harry crowded into the corridor entrance and pushed the door shut behind them, realizing with dread that knew neither how to get out nor what was ahead of them.


	7. Neon Yellow is a Lovely Color

**A Dangerous Project – Part Seven – Neon Yellow is a Lovely Color**

For a moment, the three of them simply looked at each other. Then Hermione started, and put her hand up to her ear, motioning for them to listen. In the distance, there were faint voices. They were muffled, but –

- they were definitely coming closer. Hermione, Ron, and Harry looked around in panic, hoping to see somewhere to hide. But there was just the hallway, and none of them had thought to bring the invisibility cloak. Frantically, they pressed at the walls, trying to find another doorway or a way out. Then Hermione held her hand up to her ear again.

With visible relief, the three of them heard the sounds of another door shutting, the voices disappearing.

"Come on, let's go," Hermione whispered. The three of them crept down the narrow corridor. The tight, chilly air was hard to breathe, and they stopped several times. The corridor went on for at least forty feet, with equally narrow doors made of old, sometimes rotting wood.

"Is everyone who comes here dead skinny or what?" Ron grumbled.

Harry chuckled, but raised a finger to his lips. Just because the voices were gone didn't mean that there wasn't anyone here. Finally, the corridor widened into a large room, full of comfortable-looking armchairs and a large fireplace. Hundreds of objects lined the walls on stone shelves – books, boxes, and several nasty-looking things in jars.

"Must everything be stone? Apparently these skinny people are pretty depressing, too. They ought to lighten the place up a bit." Amusement on his face, Ron waved his wand and turned all the shelves neon yellow.

"Ron!" Harry yelped. But then, Hermione changed the charcoal armchairs a bright, spring green, and the three of them burst into giggles. Harry added a purple rug, and it just got worse from there.

"Okay," Hermione said a few moments later, smothering her giggles. "We should look around and see what's here. Maybe we can figure out just what this place is." Harry and Ron agreed to take the shelves, while Hermione looked at the low table in front of the fireplace. Half an hour later, the three compared their findings.

"I looked at the books. Most of what was there was about spells and potions – pretty typical stuff. However, I also found these." Ron held out several books, a grim look on his face.

"_Pure and Perfect – The Complete History of the Major Pureblood Wizarding Families of England, An Array of Choices – A Guide to Knockturn Alley, An In-Depth Study of Dark Magic, How Voldemort Rose to Power, Crucio – Powerful Dark Curses_," Hermione read.

"They were in a cupboard behind other books," Ron said, "Why would you hide something – "

"– unless it's something that could get you in trouble." Harry finished. Hermione sat the books down for a moment.

"Harry, what did you find?" she asked.

"Well, Ron and I thought I should take a look at the objects lying around. Most of them definitely did not come from Diagon Alley. And some are from human beings, and probably were not given willingly." Harry answered seriously. He handed her a large bone.

"Human," he stated, "I remember that much from my old muggle school. It's a human femur. And this is powdered bone," he said, handing her a mortar and pestle. Hermione looked at him with wide eyes, and he looked back at her calmly.

"What now?" said Ron, voicing the question they were all thinking about.

"Dumbledore," Hermione said positively, "We could get into trouble if we don't tell someone."

"But you know, Hermione," said Harry slowly, "That would make this whole thing pointless. The deal was that we could do things the teachers couldn't, right? I think we should take care of it ourselves."

"_Take care of it?_" Ron burst out almost hysterically. "Repeat after me: _I will not go picking a fight with Death Eaters_! Especially without backup!"

"Well, you both have a point," Hermione said, grinning wryly. "Is there really any reason we can't get anyone else involved?"

Harry and Ron stared at her in horror, as though she had sprouted a tail.

"No, really," she insisted. "We're not the only ones who know the stakes. We're not the only ones who have been affected by Voldemort, who are willing to fight! I know it's foreign to you two, but it's alright to be dependent on other people!"

"Lovely speech," said Harry sarcastically, "But whom do you suggest?"

"Neville," Hermione shot back instantly. "Luna. Seamus. Fred, George, Bill, and Charlie. Hagrid – he doesn't really count as a teacher, he's our friend. Don't be so bloody stubborn!"

"Much as I hate to admit it once again," Ron chimed in, "Hermione's right."

"Fine," Harry conceded, "But the moment they stop being serious about this, they're gone!" Ron and Hermione nodded.

"Fair enough," Hermione said. "Now, look at what I found! This is probably the best of all." She thrust a stack of papers towards Ron and Harry, who took them and started reading.

"They're letters, correspondences. Between good friends," said Ron, looking up. "So what?"

"Look at the signatures," said Hermione triumphantly.

"Bloody hell," whispered Harry, realization dawning on his face. "They're between Lucius Malfoy and other known Voldemort supporters whom Malfoy claims he has no contact with." Hermione nodded grimly.

"Hermione, Harry," said Ron slowly, "Why would someone just leave these out?"

There was silence for a moment.

"Because they expected to be back very soon," breathed Hermione, horrified. She grabbed the papers out of the boys' hands and threw them back on the table. Ron grabbed the books and put them back, while Harry frantically replaced the objects he had found. The three of them raced down the corridor as quickly as they could, but before they reached the end, a door creaked open and they heard shouts of surprise.

"Oh, shit!" Hermione said in terror, "We forgot to _change the damn colors back_!" Amid the surprised, loud voices in the distance, the three of them pushed on the door, trying desperately to get the massive stone to move.

"Wait," Ron hissed, and started searching for a way to get the door open.

"Ron, hurry!" whispered Harry frantically, as the voices shifted from surprise to anger. Hermione caught the word 'search' and felt her heart rate crank up a notch.

Ron's fingers fumbled with a slight indentation in the stone, and with relief, the three of them watched the door slide open. They fell out into the hall and pushed the door back, gasping for breath.

"Well, that was fun," Ron said a few minutes later, and they all laughed weakly in relief, an aftereffect of their terror a moment ago.

"You know, Hermione," said Harry, "I think you're right. Someone else can do that next time!"


	8. Tangled Web

**A Dangerous Project – Part Eight – A Tangled Web**

Back in Hermione's room, Harry, Ron, and Hermione discussed what they had found – and what to do next.

"I think we should go ahead and call a few other people to help us. We should keep a watch on that door, and explore to see what else is down there besides that one large room." Hermione suggested.

"Someone should visit Knockturn Alley," Ron said, "We should familiarize ourselves with it, and maybe we can find out who has bought some of the stuff we found."

The next day, Luna Lovegood, Fred and George Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan, and Dean Thomas received letters by owl asking for a meeting at the top of the astronomy tower in two nights.

--------------------

"...so we left right away, seeing as how it probably wasn't a good idea to be found in there." Ron finished. Everyone else sat quietly, thinking.

"So what's it you wanted us to do, mate?" Fred asked.

"Well," Hermione answered, "We need to know about these people – where they live, what connections they have to You-Know-Who," she handed him a list of the people who were mentioned in the letters they had found. Fred's eyebrows nearly eclipsed his hairline as he read the parchment, but both he and George nodded.

"What about us?" Dean asked, motioning to himself, Neville, Luna, and Seamus.

"If you can, we need a watch on that door," said Harry. "We need to know who's going in. They won't enter when you're there, of course, but if someone keeps looking to see who's in the hall, report their names."

Everyone agreed, and the rest of the time was spent discussing other things that needed doing, like choosing code names ("Oh, come on!" said Ron. "All the great muggle detectives have them!") Hermione, Ron, and Harry were relieved at how serious everyone else was taking this – and that they realized most of what they would do was definitely against the school rules. At the very least, they would be in detention. At the worst....well, Hermione didn't want to think about the worst. She had a very good imagination. Finally, they all packed up and headed to bed, going in pairs so as not to be caught. Fred and George, after hugs all around, flew off. Hermione, Ron, and Harry headed down the stairs quietly. At the Fat Lady they parted ways, Hermione heading towards her room. She turned corners automatically, thinking about everything that had happened – and nearly screamed as a bit of shadow detached itself from the rest, heading towards her. She pulled out her wand, determined –

-but pocketed it again when she saw that it was Professor Snape.

"Miss Granger," he said coldly, in what was more a threat than a greeting. "What brings you out here tonight?"

"Just a nighttime walk," she said, in as detached a tone as she could muster. His eyes narrowed.

"Be careful where you walk, Miss Granger." he said shortly. "It can be dangerous." He walked away, leaving Hermione standing in the hall. What the hell was that about? she thought, dumbfounded. It certainly couldn't be said that Snape had been friendly, but nor had he deducted points. It couldn't possibly be because she was Head Girl – that had never stopped him from being nasty before. Recklessly, she decided to go talk to Harry and Ron about it. She scrambled into the Gryffindor common room and plopped herself into a chair by the fire, muttering a simple Calling charm. A few moments later, Harry and Ron stumbled down the stairs.

"Surely you weren't asleep already!" Hermione said, amused, taking in their tousled hair and wrinkled bedclothes.

"You bet we were," Ron responded, yawning. "What's going on?"

"I just met Snape in the hall," she said. This was definitely enough to rouse Harry and Ron.

"How long do you have detention, and how many points off?" Harry asked grumpily.

"None, that's the thing," Hermione said, tapping her fingers on the armchair as she thought. "He didn't do a damn thing." By this time, she was sure Harry and Ron's eyes couldn't be any wider. But she just had to push it.

"Ron, Harry, I think he was the one who helped us with the potion." Ron off the stool he was sitting on.

"What makes you say that, Hermione?" Harry asked, helping Ron up.

"Easy," she responded, smiling in satisfaction. "He was the only one who knew we were up that night – at least, that we know of. Besides that, he's the only one with such a complete understanding of potion ingredients to know what we needed. I don't think he believed the story you and Ron came up with. I think he knew, and I think he's helping us." Ron was now sputtering and shaking his head as he brushed off his pajamas.

"Not possible," Ron said indignantly. "That brainless git has never done anything even remotely pleasant towards us, much less something helpful! You're mad!"

"But it's the most likely possibility," said Harry slowly, frowning in thought. "And just because we have no idea why he would be helping us doesn't mean he's not, right?"

Hermione grinned triumphantly when Ron gave a grudging nod.

"I guess. But that doesn't mean I'm going to be friendly to that ass." Hermione and Harry both laughed at this.

"Well, don't get your knickers in a twist yet, Ron, because we don't even know it really is him." Hermione said with an amused chuckle.

"Blimey, Hermione, when have your guesses ever not been right?"

--------------------

Hermione tapped her fingers anxiously on the book she was reading, and realized she hadn't turned the page in half an hour. She flipped it quickly, and saw with dismay that she had no idea even what she was reading about. Sighing, she did a very un-Hermione-like thing – she threw the book across the room. It made a 'thunk' as it hit the wall, its pages crinkling in a way that usually would have made her furious.

Tonight, she was going to do yet another un-Hermione-like thing. She was going to test her theory that Snape was helping them.

While talking to Harry and Ron after breakfast, she had made sure Snape could hear them. Then she slipped a comment about how they desperately needed fresh puffroot if they were ever going to finish what they needed to do. To be honest, she had no need of puffroot. All that was important was that it could only be found by an experienced Potions Master –

- and that Snape was the only one to hear of this besides Harry and Ron. Furthermore, he thought that she was outside watching Harry and Ron practice their quidditch skills. She had put a hiding charm on herself, and one on the door to make it transparent to her. To everyone else it looked perfectly normal.

Hermione glanced at the clock, but unfortunately it had only moved three minutes from the last time she looked. _Strange_, she thought, trying to occupy her mind. I'm _deceiving him in order to find out whether he's helping us while deceiving us_. It reminded her of a quote, something about it being a tangled web that humans weave.

Now the clock had moved a whopping five minutes. Nervously, Hermione realized that while her plan sounded great, she didn't know what to do afterwards. If Snape was helping them, should she confront him? Just pretend she didn't know? And if he wasn't, what then? Then it was a cold, dead trail, because the only other person it probably was was Dumbledore, and good luck getting anything out of him. The man was so brilliant it was frightening. With a start, Hermione saw through her door that someone was coming down the hall towards her room.

---------------------

**A/N – I apologize profusely for the cliffhanger. Rest assured that my intent was not to make you mad – merely irritated, and nice and enthusiastic about the next chapter. I promise I'll try to hurry...**

**Again, much love to my reviewers, especially Kate, who is MOST faithful about reviewing my work. **


	9. Who Are You?

**A Dangerous Project – Part Nine – Who are you?**

Hermione reminded herself to breathe as the person outside came closer. Why hadn't she thought to have some kind of light in the hall? The person continued to creep slowly towards her door and Hermione had to force herself not to fling the door open. That wouldn't be very helpful. Just as the figure was coming close enough for her to be able to see his or her face –

- a door in the hall slammed shut. The person spun around and strode down the hall.

Hermione gasped. All this work and now she wouldn't know who it was! She fumbled with the door handle. She had to know who this person was. She sprinted down the hall as the black robe fluttered around the corner.

She was too late. By the time she rounded the corner, he or she was long gone.

--------------------

Harry and Ron glanced at Hermione curiously. She had actually stomped into the Great Hall this morning, and was currently giving her muffin a look that by all rights should have flattened it.

"Er, Hermione?" Ron attempted nervously. She looked at him dangerously.

"_Yes_?"

Ron cowered, and shot Harry a pleading glance.

"How are you today, Hermione?" Harry asked cheerfully.

"Peachy," she snarled.

She was currently stabbing her muffin with her fork.

"That's great!" Harry said with a huge grin, as Ron attempted to become one with his chair.

The muffin was now in very small pieces.

"Know why I'm so happy?" Harry persisted, with a mischevious smirk.

The crumbs on Hermione's plate did not even remotely resemble something edible at this point.

"See, last night I was looking at the map," Harry started offhandedly.

Hermione abandoned her fork and sat up straight.

"And?" she asked cautiously, attempting to mask her interest.

"And I saw someone...oh, nevermind," Harry said with a sigh, "I'm sure you're not interested."

Ron was sniggering now, and Hermione looked as though she was going to give Harry's head the same treatment the muffin received.

"What?!" she nearly strangled him.

"Hermione," Harry said seriously, "Let me read you something I found last night."

She tapped her foot impatiently as Harry pulled out a sheet of parchment.

"Piffroot," he read, "is not a very powerful herb. It is, however, capable of producing male impotence when mixed with –" Harry paused. "Guess what?"

Hermione fidgeted. "Um, I don't know. When mixed with what?"

"Several of the bloody ingredients we put in our potion!" Ron exploded, looking very injured.

"Oh. Er..." Hermione fumbled for something to say.

"And since I really don't think your intent was to kill me and Ron's chances of producing heirs," Harry snickered, "How about you tell us next time you have a good idea for catching our mysterious helper?"

If possible, Hermione looked even more shocked than before. "How did you guess?" she stammered. Harry shrugged.

"We couldn't find the list of ingredients you had," Ron said, "But neither of us remembered seeing that stuff. So we checked it out."

"Yeah, Ron voluntarily went to the library for something," Harry teased. "I think you're having a good influence on him, Hermione!"

Harry fell to the floor, laughing uncontrollably as Ron and Hermione tickled him mercilessly. Only those two knew exactly where to tickle to make him absolutely collapse. Suddenly, Hermione stopped and sat up abruptly.

"Harry! Ron!" she shrieked. "You never told me who it was!"

The two looked at each other guiltily.

"Well," Ron began. "It's kind of strange."

"What's kind of strange?" Hermione asked impatiently.

"That it wasn't someone we expected at all," Harry said uncomfortably. "In fact, we think the map might not be working right."

Hermione frowned. "It's never been wrong before. Tell me already!"

Harry and Ron glanced at each other nervously.

"Malfoy," they said simultaneously.

--------------------

"I don't care what the bloody map said! The person I saw was much bigger than Malfoy!" Hermione glared stubbornly at the two boys in front of her. They were sitting in Hermione's room, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Are you sure you weren't mistaken?" Ron persisted.

"Ronald Weasley," she growled. "If you tell me I'm wrong again, I'm going to curse you like there's no tomorrow!"

Ron looked at Harry in bemusement. 'PMS' Harry mouthed. Ron looked terrified.

"Right," Ron said hastily, "I've got to go work on my Transfiguration essay. We can talk again later!" He fled the room without another word.

Harry and Hermione smiled at each other. "We'll figure it out, ok, 'Mione?" she nodded, and Harry reached down to give her a hug. "I'll talk to you later," he called, exiting the room.

--------------------

Hermione lay in bed, frowning. She couldn't sleep with this problem on her mind. _One of my many faults_, she thought wryly.

It couldn't possibly have been Malfoy. For one thing, he had no idea she needed the ingredient. Secondly, he was definitely smaller and skinnier than the person she saw. Not that he hadn't beefed up a bit, but he wasn't that tall yet. And for Merlin's sake...why would he help them?

Hermione groaned. For the thousandth time, she thought how frustrating this whole thing was. She glanced at the clock. Definitely time for sleep. She drifted off, thinking back fondly on the adventures she, Ron, and Harry had had in the past.


End file.
